Matungu SDA Special School

Project Status

Western Kenya WaSH Program

The Water Project’s WaSH program in Western Kenya aims to access, protect, filter, and purify the abundant waters that are available through two seasonal rains, prevalent springs, high water tables, and deep aquifers in the region. Explore water projects in communities, schools, and churches in Western Kenya such as protected springs, rainwater catchment systems, and water wells. This program emphasizes the power of strategic geographical saturation of projects, effective hygiene and sanitation training, and relational networking between NGOs, health workers, local politicians, and educators.

Functionality Data

Install Date: 04/16/2019

Current Status: Functional

Last Checkup: 09/10/2019

Checkup History:06/20/2019 — Functional09/10/2019 — Functional

Last Checkup: 09/10/2019

Project Features

Rainwater Catchment

Rainwater is collected off strategic areas of a roof, enters a custom guttering system (which filters out debris) and leads to a storage tank. Tanks can vary in sizes and are determined by population and average rainfall patterns. Water can be stored for months, is easily treated in the tank, and is accessible through taps. These projects are implemented at schools with proper roof lines and gutter systems to make them successful.

Rehabilitation Project

Rehabilitation is not just fixing a pump - it’s total community re-engagement.

There’s only one thing we can think of that might be worse than not having safe water: having safe water, and then losing it because a project fell into disrepair.

Rehabilitation often proves to be a big challenge, as many wells have sit idle for years and there is typically little information about the specifics of the well. A borehole and dug well rehabilitation involves quite a bit of discovery. First, our teams work to discover as much as they can about the initial project. What materials were used? Was the borehole/hand-dug well properly constructed? Many of these questions can only be answered by diving in, and doing “the work” which makes up a rehabilitation.

Once our teams have found the problem, they find the solution. Then, they reconstruct the well and install a hand pump.

Engagement and training with communities takes into account rehabilitation was needed and alters the program to suit the needs of the community. After all - engaging with this community in the same way which led to the initial, failed project will not bring new results. Our teams work to understand the social and support reasons leading to initial failure, and make those areas a focus of our ongoing engagement with communities.

Local Leadership

Local leadership is a lasting investment

Sustainable water projects only occur through the presence of local leaders. The Water Project identifies, develops, supports, and partners with local organizations who share our vision of reliable and verifiable clean water. Together, we build water programs that include responsible community development, lasting local solutions and ongoing monitoring and resolution.

Community Engagement

Community engagement is at every step of a water project.

Our engagement is rooted in relationship and includes involving the community in implementation and ongoing support, setting expectations for water point management and ongoing costs, etc. All of this happens before a water project is installed.

We use a term called ABCD: “Asset Based Community Development”. This means the community gets a leading seat at the table. Before we seek to bring anything into the community, we first seek to understand and utilize the assets that already exist within the community.

Handwashing Stations

Handwashing with soap at critical times reduces diarrheal disease by more than 40%. All of our projects include hygiene and sanitation training, which (among many things) empowers communities to build their own handwashing stations. When we work at schools, we install permanent handwashing stations and work with the school to make sure they are constantly supplied with soap.

Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) Latrines

Proper hygiene and sanitation facilities go hand-in-hand with access to clean, reliable water. Two major challenges with sanitation facilities are flies and smell.

A VIP latrine is a pit latrine containing a vent pipe fitted to the pit and a screen at the pipe opening. The vent pipe carries smell outside and screens keep flies out/in.

Hygiene and Sanitation Training

Community education and self-discovery about hygiene and sanitation concepts lead to improved health.

Improved health is always the goal. This is why all our projects include hygiene and sanitation training. We utilize many different methods for this training, depending on the community/institution, program and country. Training topics include disease transmission, personal hygiene and cleanliness, proper disposal of waste and proper water storage methods.

Monitoring and Resolution

Water isn’t a pump. Water is a service. And, it must be reliable.

The known benefits of water are ONLY true if water can be counted on, over time. We love celebrating when a project is complete and a community has access to clean, safe water. However, the ongoing service of water - making water reliable - is how we know our true impact.

The Water Project continues to monitor our water projects, and we provide continued support to make sure water service continues for communities.

Past water projects and the communities they serve are just as important to us as anything else we might be doing in the future.

Project Timeline FAQ

Project Status

We’re working hard to make sure your gifts result in a lasting water project for the community it serves. Our engagement with a community begins many months before construction and lasts years after construction. The timeline here is focused on the physical construction of the water project. There is also training and engagement work that has already started.

Water project construction in the developing world is hard work. A lot of things can and do cause delays - which are normal. We attempt to make our best judgment of when construction will be complete, but the circumstances surrounding actual "in the field" conditions are far from our control.

Weather, supply availability, government paperwork, and progress of community involvement are just a few of the variables that can delay (and sometimes speed up) a project's completion.

We will always tell you if anything changes. And, if you get a notice like this – it’s actually further proof your gifts are being carefully used towards a water project that lasts.

Click icons to learn about each feature.

Report Submitted by Janet Kayi, M&E Associate

Janet enjoys meeting with women and children who are enjoying the benefits safe water after projects are completed. She hopes that her work with schools and communities can play a part in everyone having access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation in Western Kenya.

Janet has been a M&E Associate since 2018, with WeWaSaFo, The Water Project's trusted partner in our Western Kenya WaSH Program.

Community Profile

Community Profile

Matungu SDA Special School began in 2013 and was registered in 2014. It was started by the Headteacher Mr. Ali Mbwana, who saw that children with disabilities were being neglected. He started with just 25 pupils. The school received individual donations for construction of temporary classrooms with iron sheet roofs, mud walls, and dirt floors. The National Council of Persons with Disabilities constructed a workshop for the school. The population of the school has grown and enrolled a total of 124 students in 2018.

Parents are supposed to pay USD30 per term for attendees, but many are not able to manage over one dollar, which makes it more difficult for the school to provide for their students. A few well-wishers donated plastic tanks to help store water. There is a hand-dug well with a bicycle pump on it. A majority of students cannot draw water from this well, but what’s worse is that it dries up for part of each year. And during these months there’s no rainwater to refill the plastic tanks, so the school must find water elsewhere.

“The nature of these pupils require a lot of water and the current one is not sufficient,” said Mr. Ali Mbwana.

Since students struggle to find the water they need, parents from the community are paid per water container delivered to the school. However, the water delivered to school is from unknown sources that are clearly contaminated. After drinking this water, students suffer from waterborne diseases. “If we can have safe drinking water we will avoid medical expenses incurred in treating typhoid,” said Mr. Opwora, the deputy headteacher.

It is at this school that many young people are prepared to make a living on their own. With enough water, they’ll be able to focus on weaving, carpentry, agriculture, or beauty vocations.

What we can do:

Training

Training on good hygiene habits will be held for two days. The facilitator will use PHAST (participatory hygiene and sanitation transformation), ABCD (asset-based community development), CTC (child to child), lectures, group discussions, and handouts to teach health topics and ways to promote good practices within the school. The CTC method will prepare students to lead other students into healthy habits, as well as kickstart a CTC club for the school.

Handwashing Stations

This CTC club will oversee the new facilities, such as handwashing stations, and make sure they are kept clean and in working condition. The two handwashing stations will be delivered to the school, and the club will fill them with water on a daily basis and make sure there is always a cleaning agent such as soap or ash.

VIP Latrines

Two triple-door latrines will be constructed with local materials that the school will help gather. Three doors will serve the girls while the other three serve the boys. And with a new source of water on school grounds, students and staff should have enough to keep these new latrines clean.

Rainwater Catchment Tank

A 50,000-liter rainwater catchment tank will help alleviate the water crisis at this school. The school will also help gather the needed materials such as sand, rocks, and water for mixing cement. Once finished, this tank can begin catching rainfall that will be used by the school’s students and staff.

We and the school strongly believe that with this assistance, standards will significantly improve.

3/8/19 – Following more visits to the school, there was deemed no need for wheelchair access at the tank or latrines. Construction will proceed without a ramp.

Project Updates

05/01/2019: Matungu SDA Special School Project Complete

There is a new rainwater catchment system at Matungu SDA Special School! Students have a source of safe, clean water thanks to your support. Handwashing stations were installed so that students can clean up after using their new latrines, and students and staff have received training in sanitation and hygiene.

Rainwater Catchment Tank

Construction of this new rainwater catchment tank was a big success!

This project was successful because of the teamwork of the artisans and the school. The headteacher, teachers, and pupils were so excited about the project that they were always present to support the artisans and make sure that everything they needed was on site. They were there to bring water for the artisan, carry bricks, stones, and anything else.

“The new water point will improve the academic and sanitation standards of our school. The students require intense sanitation and hygiene so as to maintain their health. Initially, this was a big challenge!” said Headteacher Mbwana.

The headteacher organized for a celebration ceremony and made sure that all teachers, parents, and students were invited. It was a very successful day with children singing and dancing. Before the project had begun, parents didn’t understand the type of tank to be made for the school; they have never heard of it or seen it anywhere. So after the completion of the project, they were blown away and so appreciative of the new water point. They all came to celebrate with the school.

Before the project, the school population was 124 but now after the construction work, it has increased to 129 students.

The Process:

Our staff and the school administration started by looking around the school to determine the best location for their new rainwater catchment tank. This needed to be the best site with good, clean roofing to catch the rainwater.

Then, we cleared the site: excavating the soil within the required measurements to make level ground for the tank foundation. The foundation was cast by laying stones on level ground and then reinforcing it using steel, concrete and waterproof cement.

Mixing cement

Both the drawing pipe as well as the washout pipe were affixed as the foundation was lain. The wall was built with ferro-cement techniques through six layers. The inner wall was plastered while rough casting was done on the outer part.

The catchment area is dug, plastered, and a staircase installed so students can easily get water from the tap. A metal cover with a lock is placed over the catchment area to avoid water wastage.

Dome construction could begin after the superstructure had been given enough time to settle. The manhole cover was fitted, inlet pipes were connected to the roof gutters, inlet screens, ventilation pipes (breathers) and overflow pipes were all done to standard.

Once finished, the tank was given three weeks to undergo complete curing before it was cleaned and handed over to Matungu SDA Special School, though we will continue to offer them great support as a part of our monitoring and maintenance program.

Handwashing Stations

Pupils can now enjoy washing their hands with soap thanks to the two handwashing stations that were delivered to their school. These new handwashing opportunities will help reduce cases of hygiene-related illness. The training on hygiene has motivated these students to share what they’ve learned with their peers at school and families at home.

VIP Latrines

This project funded the installation of six new ventilated improved pit latrines, two for the boys and four for the girls. All of these new latrines have cement floors that are easy to use and clean. And with a rainwater catchment tank, there should be enough water to keep them clean all the time.

New Knowledge

We arranged for hygiene and sanitation training strongly relying on the headteacher’s judgment about who to invite. They worked with the other teachers to select students who would be able to grasp the topics and demonstrate leadership among their peers. We conducted the training inside the headteacher’s office to avoid interruptions and from the other pupils. The 13 students in attendance formed a child to child (CTC) health club that will share what they learned with their peers and families at home.

The students and their teachers needed knowledge on how to improve standards of hygiene and ensure that the sanitation facilities given to them are well-maintained for years to come. Some of the topics we covered included water pollution and treatment methods, handwashing, dental hygiene, operations and maintenance of the facilities, and group dynamics along with leadership and governance for the newly formed CTC health club.

Students particularly enjoyed the hands-on demonstrations that got them moving. Every single participant wanted to demonstrate the handwashing process to the others. They also liked leaving the office to learn about how to care for the new tank and new latrines. These students vowed to tell the teachers about any circumstances when their peers mistreat the tank or latrines, and you can really see that they are taking ownership of their new facilities.

“I’m pleased with the training today because every day we talk to students about their health. Now you have come and talked to them on the same, which is a confirmation. I believe with the help of their teachers, they will take it more seriously because it has also come from a different person. After the completion of the project, sanitation and hygiene standards in the school will improve enormously,” said Mrs. Mumia the sanitation teacher.

Thank You for making all of this possible!

02/26/2019: Matungu SDA Special School Project Underway

A severe clean water shortage at Matungu SDA Special School drains students’ time, energy, and health. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point and much more.

Get to know this school through the introduction and pictures we’ve posted, and read about this water, sanitation and hygiene project. We look forward to reaching out with news of success!

Project Photos

Project Type

Rainwater is collected off strategic areas of a roof, enters a custom guttering system (which filters out debris) and leads to a storage tank. Tanks can vary in sizes and are determined by population and average rainfall patterns. Water can be stored for months, is easily treated in the tank, and is accessible through taps. These projects are implemented at schools with proper roof lines and gutter systems to make them successful.